Hydraulic cylinders are used in many applications where a strong linear reciprocating force is needed to move a piece of equipment. As is well known, the hydraulic cylinder includes a cylinder barrel inside of which a piston and a piston rod move lengthwise of the cylinder as oil pressure is applied or removed from the faces of the piston. One end of the cylinder barrel is closed by a rod gland through which the rod moves linearly. In the prior art the rod gland is held in place with a gland nut which is fastened to the barrel by screw threads. This arrangement has been used successfully for many years, but it has inherent weaknesses due to the screw thread connection and the manner in which the rod gland is held in place.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved hydraulic cylinder design. It is another object of this invention to provide an improved design of hydraulic cylinder in which screw thread connection of the barrel and gland nut is eliminated. Other objects will become apparent in the detailed description which follows.